Lanie It had been a little over a week since Iâd been able to compel Greyson, but | hadnât done anything like that since. Mason and Xander had been called to take part in the leadership council, which had been taking up a lot of their time, and | knew my grandfather and Charlotte were also busy with that.
Zane had been finding ways to spend his time, and so had Gabriela. The children were all in school. | was the only one without a specific task or job. | was starting to get really bored.
At the same time, | was glad to have the time to figure out what, exactly, | wanted to do about all of this new power | could feel burbling up inside of me. After seeing how it made my mates feel to watch me, and knowing how it had made me feel after, |
wasn't really that eager to have Malachi test me again.
In fact, | was kind of nervous about it.
The only way to stop yourself from worrying about something was to make sure you knew as much as you could about everything that could go wrong. My mom had told me that once, a long time ago, and I'd never forgotten it. At the time, Iâd thought she was being too overprotective, maybe even a little bit paranoid. Now, as a mother myself, | thought | understood her a lot better.
Today I'd decided | was going to start setting goals for myself. The enclave had so many resources available. Libraries crammed full of books, a computer cafe where you could access the internet that was blocked in much of the rest of the place, and even classes you could sign up for. Because there were so many types of supernaturals living here, | was far from the only one who didnât know a lot about the different ways things worked.
Of course, only the wolves had been specifically kept in the dark, but | wasnât going to let that keep me back any more. | had a wealth of information at my fingertips, and | was going to start learning.
But first....a meat pie.
I There were things | didnât love about living here-not having my own âstuffâ for example. Our rooms were grand, but | missed having a yard. Trees.
The food, however, was amazing. Plenty of it, and | never had to lift a finger to cook it.
I'd stopped at the main library on the way to this cafe and found a few texts on the history of vampires. | figured Iâd try to learn as much as | could about that side of me. | had another book about vampire physiology and psychology, too. There wasnât an equivalent book for wolves, and the only information I'd been able to pull on hybrids was more like a pamphlet than a full research book. It was a start, at least.
up | ordered my meat pie and a lager, then dove into the books. Iâd brought my own notepad, and as | bent over the words on the page, | scribbled my thoughts down. | made a little chart and a diagram as things started to become more clear to me.
So much to learn, so much to know. And the High Council had kept all of it from me.
Me at lust ma Allahun Hatred burned in my gut like a volcano when | thought about how arrogant theyâd been. And how st upid, too. To think they could hide an entire world of history from us because...why? Wolf psychology meant we trusted our leaders?
Vampires didnât run in packs. They formed groups, usually family based, but it wasnât the same. The Ancients were more powerful, but they didnât rule over everyone the way our Alphas did. | found it fascinating. especially when | started to read about how vampires mated. How they reproduced.
How they made other vampires.
| hadn't been thinking much about Braden and Malachi being together because it still kind of squicked me out. But | did want to find out if | would be able to turn anyone into a vampire. | didnât want it to happen by accident, that much | knew for sure, and |
really didnât know how | felt about the idea that if | ever did do it, that new vampire would have to rely on me for everything for an untold number of years. Since vampires were basically immortal, it could even be centuries.
âWay more responsibility than having a pup,â | murmured to myself as | flipped the bookâs pages.
Of all the subjects I'd been studying, this was the one that didnât seem to have much information about it at all. That's when | saw the chapter | needed. | had to stifle my gasp at what | saw there.